By ADEMU IDAKWO and JAMES KWEN, Abuja
The battle for the 2027 elections took an unexpected turn yesterday as the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of publishing names of candidates the party said it neither nominated nor submitted for the polls.
The opposition party alleged that the commission had replaced some of its duly nominated candidates with “unknown” names, raising fresh questions over the integrity of the nomination and candidate-upload process barely months to the 2027 general elections.
The allegation, which is particularly contentious in Anambra State — the home state of the NDC’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi — followed INEC’s publication of the list of candidates for the State Houses of Assembly elections.
NDC national chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, in a statement he personally signed on Sunday, described the publication as a deliberate attempt to sabotage the party ahead of the elections and create disaffection among its supporters.
Repeated attempts to obtain INEC’s response to the allegation were unsuccessful as of press time.
When contacted, the commission’s director, Voter Education and Publicity, Mrs Victoria Eta-Messi, said she would contact the relevant department and revert. Subsequent attempts to obtain the commission’s response were unsuccessful.
The commission is expected to clarify the basis for the inclusion of the disputed names and whether they were submitted through the party’s nomination process or obtained by INEC through its monitoring of the party’s primaries.
NDC Alleges ‘Unauthorised’ Names
Cleopas alleged that INEC had uploaded and published unauthorised names as NDC candidates in several constituencies, particularly in Anambra State, the home state of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
He claimed that nine names published for the Anambra State House of Assembly elections were unknown to the party and were not among those submitted by the NDC to INEC.
The statement read in part: “The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, totally condemns the action of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its officials over the uploading and publication of unauthorized names in various constituencies, principally in the Anambra State House of Assembly … where nine names, unknown to the party; names not authorised by the party; names not sent by the party to INEC, in accordance with the law, have now been uploaded and published as candidates of the party.”
According to the NDC chairman, the disputed names include Umennaajiego Jude Ezenwa for Onitsha South; Akpotue Obinna Chibuike for Onitsha South 2; Nwankwo Chiemerie for Orumba North; Maduagwu Eric for Anaocha 1; Ngoebisi Obinna for Idemili North; Isintume Charles for Njikoka 1; Nwachukwu Nonso for Nnewi South 1; Okeke Ifeanyi Akunne for Nnewi South 2; Nnonyelu Samson E for Ayamelum; and Azotani Chuks Francis for Dunukofia.
Cleopas said that, as chairman and custodian of the code provided to the NDC by INEC for uploading its candidates, he did not upload the disputed names and that the party had not submitted them.
He said that following the conclusion of the party’s primaries and appeals, stakeholders from Anambra, party leaders, representatives of Obi and the party’s Appeals Panel produced and signed a final list of candidates.
According to him, when the list was uploaded to the INEC portal, nine names were kept on “Pending” status by INEC officials managing the backend of the system.
He claimed that the commission told the party the names were already in its system because they had been submitted by INEC officials who monitored the NDC primaries.
Cleopas said the NDC formally challenged the disputed names and submitted the names of its actual candidates, but INEC allegedly refused to alter them.
He further alleged that INEC subsequently collected Form EC-9 directly from the disputed candidates and uploaded the documents without going through the party.
